India Buys C-130J-30 Hercules for Special Forces

1st flight

In May 2006, India Defence quoted Air Chief S.P. Tyagi saying that “the IAF is planning to buy C-130J planes” for its special forces and Border Security Forces. Reports indicate that the IAF was particularly attracted to the C-130J’s ability to land and take off even in improvised or short airfields, and without lights. Those characteristics have served the Hercules well in other anti-terrorism scenarios like Operation Yonatan in Entebbe, and are now more routine maneuvers thanks to the C-130J Hercules’ modern avionics and increased engine power. That extra power also means that the ‘J’ model performs well in “hot and high” conditions, which can reduce the useful load of older Hercules or similar transport aircraft by 50-60%.

The new C-130J-30 planes will be bracketed by India’s larger Ilyushin IL-76 jet transports on the high end, and on the lower end by twin-engine Antonov AN-32 turboprops. India’s interest in the Hercules is quite specific to the Special Forces at the moment; but the plane’s capacity for additional specialty operations like aerial refueling enhances those operations, and gives the IAF a number of additional employment options. The AN-32s are currently undergoing mid-life refurbishment, and a joint project with Russia’s Irkut looks set to develop a Hercules competitor in time for the AN-32’s replacement cycle. In the interim, however, India is fielding 11 C-130J-30s for its Special Forces…

Jordan’s AC-235 and AC-295 Pocket Gunships

AC-235 concept

In February 2011, with unrest engulfing the Middle East, ATK announced a project with Jordan to turn 2 Jordanian CN-235 light transport aircraft into small aerial gunships. In June 2014, they were so pleased by the results that they decided to convert one of their larger C295s.

The aircraft pack electro-optical targeting systems that include a laser designator, aircraft self-protection equipment, and a weapons suite of Hellfire laser-guided missiles, laser-guided APKWS-II 70mm/2.75 inch rockets, and the same M230 link-fed 30mm chain gun that equips AH-64 Apache helicopters. The weapons are all controlled by ATK’s STAR mission system, turning the Airbus light transports into lethal but relatively inexpensive counter-insurgency platforms…

Saab Won’t Chase Danish Jet Deal

• According to a Danish newspaper Saab bowed out of Denmark’s fighter jet competition [in Danish] because they think the country’s participation in the F-35 program makes the deal a foregone conclusion. Politiken [in Danish] | Reuters. The F-35 was barely disguised in a couple episodes of Denmark’s highly recommended Borgen TV series.

The Great Engine War II: Choice or Monopoly for Global F-35 Fleets?

Gentlemen, start your…

In January 2006 the Pentagon attempted to remove FY 2007 funding from the F-35 Lightning II’s second engine option, the GE/ Rolls Royce F136. As predicted, protests from fellow Tier 1 partner Britain followed at the highest levels of government. Many in the US Congress, meanwhile, were openly skeptical of handing Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine the keys to the entire F-35 fleet. In the end, the Pentagon’s argument that low program risk made R&D spending on F136 development a waste, failed. Congress re-inserted funding, and F136 development has continued on schedule.

Fast forward to the FY 2008 budget. For the second year in a row, the USAF removed funding for the GE/RR F136, arguing that killing the F136 would free up $1.8 billion. Politicians disagreed, and the USA’s GAO auditors backed them up. Funding was reinstated. Again. That process was repeated every year until December 2011, when Pratt & Whitney was finally handed its engine monopoly over the US military’s core fighter jet of the future.

The USA’s C-130 AMP Program: Looking for a Cheaper Upgrade Path

C-130 AMP cockpit
(click to view larger)

The USA’s C-130E/H medium air transport fleet suffers from 2 key problems: (1) many aircraft, especially Air National Guard planes, aren’t flyable, or won’t remain so much longer; and (2) their avionics are too old to meet modern standards for flight in civil airspace, just as standards are set to tighten in 2015.

The 1st problem is being addressed by major structural rework, inspections, and groundings. The 2nd problem was supposed to be addressed by the C-130 AMP program, begun in 2001 in order to improve aircraft fight-readiness, flight times, flexibility, and fuel use. Higher than expected costs left the program yo-yoing between possible cancellation and slowed progress over the last few years, and the near-death experiences eventually caught up to it. C-130 AMP was cancelled in the FY 2013 budget, while the USAF searches for alternatives that it might be able to afford. A study by the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) came up with such options that could deliver most of AMP’s capabilities for a significantly lower price tag.

Was the Missile Launched Against Flight MH17 Stolen or Given?

• The missile that took down flight MH17 may have been stolen by pro-Russian insurgents at the end of last month, since they proclaimed to have taken control of BUK systems as then relayed by state-owned Russian media.

• An unnamed American intelligence officer told the Washington Post that Russia had also moved similar missile systems into Eastern Ukraine in the week(s) before the attack.

• FT: evidence mounts on how jet was downed:

“The apparent SBU wire tap evidence indicates that three Buk-M1 systems were brought into eastern Ukraine from Russian territory and handed to the rebels. One allegedly crossed the border into Ukraine at 1am on July 17, near Sukhodolsk. Another was apparently brought in from Russia-controlled Crimea. The third appeared to have been in rebel hands for longer [DID: no mention of systems stolen from Ukraine].”

• Madeleine Moon, a Labour MP in the UK’s House of Commons and a member of its defence committee, on how Europe should react in the wake of the MH17 crash:

“I think we have to act as if we’re entering a new Cold War. […] We have to have more regular live exercises and snap exercises so that we are clear that we are sending a message to Russia that we are not sitting back – we are ready and we are capable – because that’s the only message the Russians understand.”

• Is this the Russian missile launcher that blasted flight MH17 out of the sky?

• Here’s the last time Russia shot down a passenger plane.

Pocket Gunship: From AC-XX to the MC-27J Praetorian

C-27J 3-view

In mid-2008 Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) made a $32 million budget reprogramming request in order to buy a C-27J light tactical transport plane and convert it into a small prototype AC-XX gunship, using “proven/known” weapons and systems.

That effort foundered for good when the USAF canceled the C-27J, but programs to turn existing USMC and AFSOC C-130s into light gunships had laid the technical foundations. Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi figured that a C-27J gunship might have a lot of appeal on the international market. Especially if the gunship kit could somehow co-exist with its role as a transport. In 2012, they unveiled exactly that, thanks to a collaboration with America’s ATK: the MC-27J Praetorian.

MH17 Attack: Looking for Clues In A Potential Pivotal Event

• More than half of the 298 people dead in the MH17 shot over Ukraine yesterday are Dutch nationals. So far Prime Minister Mark Rutte issued a very short statement while his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak called for an international investigation. Here’s a quick overview [in Dutch] of media coverage in the Netherlands.

• Daily Beast: the missile that likely shot down MH17.

• US Senator John McCain wants to “impose the most severe sanctions” on Russia.

• Will this tragedy sway European politicians into a tougher stance against Russia? And will it force China away from its de facto acceptance of Russian aggression in Ukraine? So far the Chinese foreign ministry has offered the usual bromides, but they have a rather amicable relationship with Malaysia and may find they can’t pretend to be neutral while satisfying everyone, or even anyone.

• Russia’s Pravda says that Canada is offering Ukraine 20 decommissioned F/A-18A/B fighters for refurbishment cost, along with support. Reports from Canada only mention CF-18s being sent to bolster NATO air patrols over the Baltic States, and Army units headed for Poland. Canada has a Ukrainian community that’s over 1 million strong, in a country of 30+ million – big enough that they could influence the next election. The Harper government has taken a front-rank role since the crisis there, but that has meant Russian retaliation. Just how far would Canada be willing to go?
  

Egyptian Order Rises to 20 C-295M Air Transports

EAF C-295M concept

In addition to its larger AN-74 and C-130 military transports, Egypt also operates a small fleet of very old DHC-5 Buffalo aircraft, which need replacing. Canada’s Viking Air has a notional design for an modern DHC-5NG re-launch, but it has no customers and no prototype yet. The EAF wanted a more standard product, which left it with 4 plausible options: Airbus Military’s C295, Alenia’s C-27J Spartan, Antonov’s AN-32, or Xian’s Y-7H.

Egypt chose to become a new Airbus Military customer, and they’ve been adding to their fleet ever since.

Meltem-III: Turkey’s New ATR-72 Maritime Patrol Planes

ATR-72 ASW

In July 2005, Turkey’s SSM defence procurement authority signed a contract to meet its Meltem III requirement for 10 maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It ordered a dedicated version of the ATR 72-500 regional transport turboprop, called the ATR 72 ASW. Almost 8 years later, Turkey hasn’t taken delivery of any planes. They’ve has had more luck with the Meltem I/II program, which has begun fielding smaller CN-235 MPAs.

In 2013, Turkey finally dealt with its Meltem III contract, and signed a revised agreement. They’ll buy fewer ATR-72s, split that buy between utility and maritime patrol versions, and change the base airframe.